Roberto Clemente Life Timeline

Roberto Clemente was born in the San Anton neighborhood in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Everyone called him Momen. His favorite word in spanish was momentito, which means just a moment. He said it so much, everyone made a nickname out of it.

1st Mar, 1952

BENCHED

During the 1952 baseball season, Roberto played for the Santurce Crabbers in Puerto Rico. Only did he find out he was going to be benched for the entire season. The coach knew he was a good ball player, but benched him because he thought that Roberto was too young to play.

19th Feb, 1954

Finally Drafted

On this day, Roberto signed his first baseball contract for the MLB. He signed this contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a Triple-A subsidiary. He then moved to Montreal, Canada to play for the Montreal Royals, the Triple-A team for the Dodgers.

17th Apr, 1955

Drafted Again

Clemente was drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates in the 1955 MLB Draft and debuted in the major leagues on this day with a double header against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the number one pick for the 1955 Draft. The Dodgers left him un-guarded, so the Pirates picked him up.

31st Oct, 1966

National League MVP

In the 1966 MLB season, Roberto won the National League Most Valuable Player Award.

9th Oct, 1971

World Series

This World Series was a match-up between the PIttsburg Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles. This went all 7 games, October 9th to October 17th. The Pirates game out on top, winning 4 out of 3 games. Roberto Clemente won the World Series MVP award, also with a .414 batting average for the series.

Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash right outside San Juan, Puerto Rico while taking supplies to relief victims of the Nicaraguan Earthquake.

21st Mar, 1973

Hall of Fame Inductee

Less than 3 months after his death, Roberto Clemente was the first hispanic inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. A 5 year waiting period was waved after his tragic death in a plane crash over the ocean.

14th May, 1973

Congressional Gold Medal

A little while after his death, Clemente was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress.

18th Aug, 1973

Number Retired

On the day of Roberto's Birthday, his number, 21, was retired througout all 30 teams in the MLB. This number can't be used again. This is a great honor for any player, especially to get it retired from all 30 teams. The number 21 was chosen by Roberto because there were 21 letters in his full name, Roberto Clemente Walker.